After serving as the president of theprovince of Florence from 2004 to 2009 and themayor of Florence from 2009 to 2014,[5] Renzi was electedsecretary of the PD in 2013, becoming prime minister the following year.[6] At the age of 39 years, Renzi, who was at the time the youngest leader in theG7 and also the first-servingmayor to become prime minister, became the youngest person to have served as prime minister.[7] While in power,Renzi's government implemented numerous reforms, including changes to theItalian electoral law, a relaxation of labour and employment laws with the intention of boosting economic growth,[8] a thorough reformation of thepublic administration, the simplification ofcivil trials, the introduction ofsame-sex civil unions,[9] and the abolition of many small taxes.[10]
In 1999, Renzi graduated in law from theUniversity of Florence with a thesis onGiorgio La Pira, the former DC mayor of Florence. He then went on to work for CHIL Srl, a marketing company focusing on leafleting owned by his family, co-ordinating the sales service ofLa Nazione.[26] During this time, Renzi was also anassociation football referee at amateur level and afutsal player.[27] In 1994, he participated as a competitor for five consecutive episodes in the television programLa Ruota Della Fortuna (a localised version of the United States game showWheel of Fortune) hosted byMike Bongiorno, winningLit.48 million.[28][29]
On 13 June 2004, Renzi was elected president of theprovince of Florence with 59% of the vote, as the candidate of thecentre-left coalition. He was the youngest person to become president of an Italian province.[30] In the years as president of Florence province, Renzi expressed his ideas against "the political caste" and during his mandate reduced taxes and decreased the number of the province's employees and managers.[31]
After five years as the president of Florence province, Renzi announced that he would seek election as themayor of Florence. On 9 June 2009, Renzi, by now a member of theDemocratic Party (PD), won the election on a second round vote with 60% of the votes, compared to 40% for his opponentGiovanni Galli.[32][33] As the mayor, he halved the number of city councillors, installed 500 freeWiFi access points across the city, reduced kindergarten waiting lists by 90%, and increased spending on social welfare programs and schools.[34]
Following this public meeting in August 2010, the Italian media gave Renzi the nicknameil rottamatore ("The Scrapper" or "The Wrecker").[37] In October 2011, Renzi organised a second public meeting, also in Florence,[38] where he wrote down one hundred topics of discussion.[39] During this time, he began to be strongly criticised by other members of his party closer to then-PD secretaryPier Luigi Bersani,[40][41] after his suggestion that Italian politicians of the same generation as then-Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi should retire.[42] In September 2012, Renzi announced that he would seek to lead the centre-left coalition in the2013 Italian general election; the other four candidates for that position werePier Luigi Bersani, the PD secretary,Nichi Vendola, leader ofLeft Ecology Freedom,Laura Puppato, a PD deputy fromVeneto andBruno Tabacci, leader of theDemocratic Centre.[43] His candidacy was criticised by some prominent PD members and to the party's left, among themRosy Bindi,[44]Massimo D'Alema,[45]Stefano Fassina,[46] and Vendola.[47]
After the first round of the2012 Italian centre-left primary election, Renzi gained 35.5% of the vote, finishing second behind Bersani and qualifying for the second ballot. Renzi eventually gained a total of 39% of the vote, against Bersani's 61%.[48] During the 2013 general election campaign, Renzi backed Bersani by organising large public rallies in his support in Florence.[49][50] In the election, the PD only gained 25.5% of the vote,[51][52] despite opinion polls placing the party at almost 30%.[53][54] In the2013 Italian presidential election, Renzi caused a minor controversy by openly criticising the candidacies of bothFranco Marini andAnna Finocchiaro, two long-standing PD members.[55][56]
Following the resignation ofPier Luigi Bersani in April 2013, Renzi announced that he would stand for the position ofsecretary of the Democratic Party (PD),[57] causing his rivals to scrutinize him.[58][59] The PD's loss of seats led to party members' doubts concerning Bersani's leadership abilities. Renzi's impressive resume at such a young age, in combination with his reputation as a political outsider thanks to his "Scrapper" moniker, made him very electable in comparison.[60] He was supported by a number of his former political opponents, such as former party secretariesWalter Veltroni andDario Franceschini, deputyMarina Sereni, member of the European ParliamentDavid Sassoli, and Turin mayorPiero Fassino.[61][62] Other supporters of his included deputies like Gianni Pietro Dal Moro, Francesco Sanna,Francesco Boccia, Lorenzo Basso, and Enrico Borghi, all of whom were considered close to the newly-elected Prime MinisterEnrico Letta.[63]
The other two candidates for party secretary wereGianni Cuperlo, a member of theChamber of Deputies and former secretary of theItalian Communist Youth Federation, andGiuseppe Civati, aleft-wing-oriented deputy fromLombardy and a former supporter of Renzi.[64] In the2013 PD leadership election,[65] Renzi was elected with 68% of the popular vote, compared to 18% for Cuperlo and 14% for Civati.[66][67] He became the new PD secretary and the centre-left coalition's prospective candidate forPrime Minister of Italy.[68] When comparing it with the 2012 centre-left primary election, Renzi moved to the left and his electorate was not much different from that of the party's average primary.[69]
Renzi's victory was welcomed by Prime Minister Letta,[70][71] who had been the vice-secretary of the party under Bersani's leadership.[72] Throughout January and February 2014, there were multiple reports of persistent leadership tensions between Renzi and Prime Minister Letta.[73][74][75] Many said that Renzi was pressuring Letta to resign in his favour, arguing that he should be given the right to become prime minister, as he was the PD's leader.[76][77] On 12 February, Letta acknowledged these rumours for the first time, publicly demanded that Renzi make his position clear.[78] Renzi subsequently called a meeting of the PD leadership for the following evening.[79] Just before the meeting took place, Renzi publicly called on Letta to resign and allow him to form a new government.[80] Letta initially resisted the demand;[81][82] following a vote in favour of Renzi's proposal during the meeting, which Letta did not attend,[83] he announced that he would tender his resignation as prime minister on 14 February.[84]
On 17 January 2014, while on air atLe invasioni barbariche onLa7 TV channel, interviewed about the tensions between him and the Prime MinisterEnrico Letta, Renzi tweeted #enricostaisereno ("Enrico don't worry") to reassure his party colleague that he was not plotting anything against him.[88] At a meeting on 13 February, the PD leadership voted heavily in favour of Renzi's call for "a new government, a new phase and a radical programme of reform". Minutes after the party backed the Renzi proposal by 136 votes to 16, with two abstentions,Palazzo Chigi, the official residence of the Prime Minister, announced that Letta would travel to theQuirinale the following day to tender his resignation to PresidentGiorgio Napolitano.[89] On 17 February, in his last act as the mayor of Florence, Renzi appointedDario Nardella as Deputy Mayor Regent of Florence with the task of leading the city until the mayoral elections in May that same year.[90]
In an earlier speech, Renzi had paid tribute to Letta, saying that he did not intend to put him "on trial". Without directly proposing himself as the next prime minister, he said theeurozone's third-largest economy urgently needed "a new phase" and "radical programme" to push through badly-needed reforms. The motion he put forward made clear "the necessity and urgency of opening a new phase with a new executive". Speaking privately to party leaders, Renzi said that Italy was "at a crossroads" and faced either holding fresh elections or a new government without a return to the polls.[91] On 14 February, President Napolitano accepted Letta's resignation from the office of Prime Minister.[92]
Following Letta's resignation, Renzi formally received the task of forming a new government from President Napolitano on 17 February.[93] Renzi held several days of talks with party leaders, all of which he broadcast live on the internet, before unveiling theRenzi Cabinet on 21 February, which contained members of the PD, theNew Centre-Right, theUnion of the Centre, and theCivic Choice (SC). His cabinet became Italy's youngest government to date, with an average age of 47.[94] It was also the first in which the number of female ministers was equal to the number of male ministers, excluding the Prime Minister.[95][96]
On 22 February, Renzi was formally sworn in as prime minister, becoming the fourth prime minister in four years and the youngest prime minister in thehistory of Italy.[97] His rise to become the PD's secretary and eventual prime minister was seen as a sign of much-needed generational change;[98][99] at the time he took office, Renzi enjoyed by far the highest approval rating of any politician in the country.[100] On 25 February, Renzi won a vote of confidence in theItalian Parliament, with 169 votes in theSenate of the Republic and 378 in theChamber of Deputies.[101]
On 7 February 2015, after just under a year in power, five senators and two deputies from the SC defected to the PD, citing the leadership of Renzi as Prime Minister as the primary reason for their decision to change parties.[102] On 20 March, Prime Minister Renzi briefly becamead interimMinister of Infrastructure and Transport following the resignation ofMaurizio Lupi due to a corruption scandal, involving public works on infrastructure, in which his name had been cited several times.[103] Renzi held the office on an unofficial basis until 2 April, whenGraziano Delrio was appointed as the new minister.[104]
On 4 December 2016, after the failure of the referendum he proposed, Renzi announced his resignation. On 7 December, he officially handed over the resignation to the PresidentSergio Mattarella.[105]
Upon becoming prime minister, Renzi said thatlabour market reform, which was thought to be "long overdue",[106] and was opposed by majortrade unions andorganised labour,[107] to introducelabour market flexibility, would be at the top of his agenda to improve the state of theItalian economy.[108][109][110] On 12 March 2014, the Renzi Cabinet issued a law-decree onfixed-term contracts, called the Poletti Decree, from the name of the Labour MinisterGiuliano Poletti,[111][112][113] as well as a bill proposing major reforms to the Italian labour market called the Jobs Act.[114][115] A reduction in the tax burden of about€80 was announced for those earning less than €1,500 per month.[116] On 30 April, Renzi andMarianna Madia, the Minister for the Public Administration, presented the guidelines for the reform of thepublic administration,[117] which was approved by the Renzi Cabinet on 13 June,[118][119] before becoming law on 7 August.[120]
Trade union protesters demonstrate near theColosseum against Renzi's labour market reforms.
In September 2014, the government sought approval for the Jobs Act, which provided for, among other things, the abolition of Article 18 of theWorkers' Statute, which protected workers from unjustified dismissal.[121] The proposal was criticised by organised labour, especially the largest trade union, theItalian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), and its leadersSusanna Camusso andMaurizio Landini.[122] Moreover, the left wing of theDemocratic Party (PD), by then led by Renzi's rival and former PD secretaryPier Luigi Bersani, criticised the government for the reform, threatening to vote against it.[123][124]
On 29 September, the National Committee of the PD voted to support the Jobs Act, despite the disagreements within the party, with 130 votes in favour, 20 against, and 11 abstaining.[125] On 9 October, the Senate voted to approve the Jobs Act, and the landmark reform passed with 165 votes in favour to 111 against, marking the first step for the most ambitious economic legislation of the eight-month-old government. Before the vote, Labour Minister Poletti was forced to cut his speech short due to the loud protests of theFive Star Movement (M5S) andLega Nord (Lega) oppositions, some of whom threw coins and papers.[126] German chancellorAngela Merkel, who was visitingMilan and had been among the most vocal politicians regarding Italy's need for speedy economic reforms, said the labour law marked an "important step" to reduce "employment barriers" in theeurozone's third-largest economy.[127]
On 25 October, almost one million people took part in a mass protest inRome, organised by the CGIL in opposition to the labour reforms of the government. Some high-profile members of the left-wing faction of the PD, includingGianni Cuperlo,Stefano Fassina, andGiuseppe Civati, also participated in the protest.[128] On 8 November, more than 100,000 public employees protested in Rome in a demonstration organised by the three largest trade unions in the country, the CGIL, theCISL, and theUIL.[129] On 25 November, the Chamber of Deputies approved the Jobs Act with 316 votes; the M5S, Lega, and almost forty members of the PD abstained from the vote to protest against the reform.[130] On 3 December, the Senate gave the final approval it needed to become law.[131]
In January 2017, the Jobs Act was taken to theConstitutional Court of Italy;[132] Renzi and his supporters said that the law was necessary for job creation and to attract investors, while its critics responded that it diminishedworkers' rights without generating new jobs. The court rejected a petition, which received 3.3. million signatures, for areferendum to be held about the Job Acts.[133] In September 2018, the Jobs Acts was partially repealed after the same court declared the compensation rules for claims of unlawful dismissal to be unconstitutional,[134][135][136] on the grounds that these rules were not in line with the principles of "reasonableness and equality" and conflicted with the concept of "protection of work" as granted by Articles 4 and 35.[137] In July 2020, the court accepted the questions raised from the tribunals of Bari and Rome about the same matter, ruling the compensation rules to be in violation of the constitutional principles of equality, reasonableness, and job protection;[138] it was the first time that a ruling was signed by three women.[139]
In March 2014, the Renzi Cabinet approved theauctioning of a large number ofluxury cars that were used to transport heads of state, including nineMaseratis, twoJaguar Cars, and various other cars such asBMWs andAlfa Romeos. Out of the 1,500 cars put up for sale, 170 sold immediately overeBay.[140] In April, as part of his wider industrial reforms, Renzi forced the chief executives of Italy's biggest state-owned companies, includingEni,Terna,Finmeccanica,Enel, andPoste italiane, to resign, citing a lack of public confidence in their leadership. He subsequently appointed women to the majority of new positions, making it the first time any woman had served as a chief executive of a state-owned company in Italy.[141] In April 2014, Renzi's cabinet introduced the so-called "Renzi bonus", a monthly allowance of €80, recognised to holders of a total annual income not exceeding €24,600.[142] The bonus, whose aim was to relaunch expenditures, was heavily criticised by the opposition, which labelled it as an "electoral baksheesh" for the2014 European Parliament election.[143]
On 1 August, Renzi launched a law decree called Unblock Italy, which was intended to facilitate the implementation of major projects, civil works, and infrastructure that were suspended at the time, and achieve further administrative simplification.[144] The centre of this was theMillegiorni,[145] or the Thousand Days Programme.[146][147] On 1 September, Renzi launched the websitepassodopopasso.italia.it,[148] which allowed citizens to monitor the progress of theMillegiorni.[149] On 9 October, Renzi presented his first Finance Bill (Legge di Stabilità),[150] which was approved by theEuropean Commission on 28 October.[151] A €36 billion bill, it included the largesttax cuts in a year (€18 billion), as well astax evasion fight, plus the €80 bonus; it was criticised by trade unions like theCGIL, theCISL, andFIOM, while theUIL was more positive andConfindustria supported it.[152][153]
In February 2015, with the economy continuing to stagnate, the government announced a plan to abolish rules that limit cooperative lenders' shareholders to one vote each at shareholder meetings regardless of the size of their holdings. The European Commission subsequently forecast that the Italian economy would begin to grow by the spring.[154] The government also announced the abolition of IRAP, a regional tax on production activities; discussing the 2016 Finance Bill, Renzi further promised to cancel IRPEF, IMU, and TASI, respectively taxes on individuals, public services, and residence,[155][156] which was a flagship policy of the centre-right former prime ministerSilvio Berlusconi, and its tax-cutting 2016 budget was passed on 22 December despite concerns from the European Commission.[157] Additionally, Renzi raised the threshold for cash payments three times with the intention to boost the economy, promising that it would not help tax evasion, and described it as "a simple, fair, and liberal measure" that "simplifies" and "encourages consumption". In 2018, Minister of Economy and FinancePier Carlo Padoan admitted that it was a mistake. A 2021 study byBankitalia/Palazzo Koch concluded that the decision "increased the share of the illegal economy by 0.5 percentage points" and "a 1% increase in the use of cash leads to growth between 0.8% and 1.8%" of theblack economy.[158][159][160]
In May 2015, the economy recorded growth of 0.3%, finally ending the Italian triple-dip recession.[161] In January 2016, Renzi highlighted an additional 500,000 jobs that he said had been created through his policies.[162] In October 2016, the Renzi government's proposed 2017 Finance Bill, an expansionary budget including deficit raising to cope with the earthquake and migrants emergencies, was seen as an increasing anti-Brussels rhetoric, having warned of disaster if it was rejected. In an interview withla Repubblica on 23 October, Padoan said: "Europe must choose which side to take. They can accept the fact that our deficit goes up from 2% to 2.3% (of gross domestic product) to tackle the earthquake and the migrant emergencies. Or they can choose the Hungarian way, which puts up walls against the migrants and must be rejected. That would be the beginning of the end." On 24 October, defending the budget law, Renzi said: "We want to address the needs of Italian citizens, not Brussels technocracy."[163]
Upon becoming prime minister, Renzi stated that one of his most important tasks was to achieve constitutional reforms; by April 2014, Renzi's government presented a constitutional bill of government initiative.[164][165] The Italian institutional framework had remained essentially unchanged since 1 January 1948, when theConstitution of Italy first came into force after being enacted by theConstituent Assembly of Italy on 22 December 1947,[166][167] and Renzi argued changes were necessary to make governments more stable; the system was created as a result of theItalian Fascist regime and to avoid such a repeat. TheItalian Communist Party (PCI) pushed forunicameralism underproportional representation, being wary of unicameralism undermajoritarian representation to avoid atyranny of the majority and like part of theItalian Socialist Party (PSI) seeing the Senate as a synonym of privilege and prospering in the Fascist regime's shadows, while theChristian Democracy (DC) party advocatedbicameralism through adivision of powers to avoid one-party hegemony. TheAction Party, the DC, theItalian Republican Party, and part of the socialists won out over the PCI and dissident socialists, especially about the Senate.[168] The actually-existing system was not the intended result of the assembly, which came about through later political choices and conditions.[169]
The first stage of Renzi's reform package aimed to abolish the so-called "perfect bicameralism", which gave identical powers to theChamber of Deputies and theSenate of the Republic; the reforms would substantially decrease the membership and power of the Senate. Constitutional reforms were in the air since April 2013, when then-PresidentGiorgio Napolitano instituted a committee for reform to avoid the repeat of inconclusivelegislative elections, as it had happened two months earlier.[170] Under the reforms, the Senate's power to force the resignation of the government by refusing to grant a vote of confidence would be removed; only a few types of bills, including the constitutional bills, constitutional amendments, laws regarding local interests, referendums, and the protection of linguistic minorities, would need to be passed by the Senate. In addition, the Senate could only propose amendments to bills in some cases, with the Chamber of Deputies always having the final word, and the membership of the Senate would be changed, with regional representatives appointed in a manner virtually identical to theBundesrat of Germany.[171][172] On 11 March 2014, the Chamber of Deputies approved both the plans to overhaul the Senate and the second stage of Renzi's constitutional reforms, a flagship electoral reform law that would see Italy's voting system overhauled.[173] On 26 March, despite objections raised by several parties in the coalition, it won a vote in the Senate on the bill reforming the provinces, with 160 voting in favour and 133 against.[174]
On 6 May, the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Senate approved the government's bill on the Senate's reform.[175] Due to the ambitious reforms that provided for the Senate abolition, which would have led to, in the words of Valentino Larcinese, "a shift towards ade facto quasi-presidential system embedded inde jureparliamentary institutions",[176] and an increase in the powers of the Prime Minister, plus a new electoral law, Renzi was accused by constitutionalists and politicians, among themStefano Rodotà[177] andFausto Bertinotti,[178][179] of being an authoritarian and anti-democratic leader.[180][181][182] Critics like thecentre-left populistFive Star Movement (M5S) and its founderBeppe Grillo argued that the reforms would give too much power to the Prime Minister; the formercentre-right prime ministerSilvio Berlusconi, who has been controversial, argued the changes would "lead us straight toward a non-democracy."The Economist argued that the reforms would result in corrupted politicians being appointed in the Senate.[183] Renzi and his government argued that the constitutional reform was long sought by the PCI and thepolitical left; political scientistNadia Urbinati commented that this was an oversimplification and that it was thepolitical right that has attacked bicameralism, arguing that the reform had more in common with that ofLega Nord'sFrancesco Speroni in 1994.[184]
In April 2014, Renzi proposed that Italy adopt what he calledItalicum, aproportional representation voting system, with a majority bonus for the party which obtained over 40% of the vote in order to provide for stable and long-term government. To approve the new electoral law, which was opposed by the M5S and a minority of the PD, Renzi gained the support of Berlusconi, who was still the leader ofForza Italia (FI), despite having been expelled from the Senate due to his sentence fortax evasion. The alliance between Renzi and Berlusconi was named the Nazareno Pact, from the name of the street in Rome where the headquarters of the PD is located, where the two leaders met for the first time to discuss the reform.[185] The alliance, which included a secret clause stating that Berlusconi's rival and long-time centre-left leaderRomano Prodi, a founder of the PD, would not become thepresident of the Italian Republic, fell apart and was called off by FI, in part due to the election of PD-backed, centre-left candidateSergio Mattarella in the2015 Italian presidential election.[186][187][188]
Renzi was criticised by many within the PD's left-wing minority for the deal with Berlusconi, as well as by the M5S of Grillo, who said the Nazareno Pact was the proof that there are no differences between the Italiancentre-left andcentre-right.[189] Despite concern from some within the PD,Italicum was given final approval by the Senate on 27 January 2015 thanks to support from FI senators.[190]
On 28 April, concerned that the reform may not pass, Renzi announced he would hold a confidence vote to approve the electoral reform changes. The M5S, FI, and some left-wing PD members opposed this decision, with some seeking to draw comparisons between Renzi andBenito Mussolini.[191] It would be only the third time that an electoral law was twinned with a confidence vote after Mussolini'sAcerbo law and the DC prime ministerAlcide De Gasperi's "scam law".[192] On 4 May, the Chamber of Deputies approved Renzi's flagship electoral changes with 334 votes for and 61 votes against, the latter including a faction of the PD.[193][194] The reform took full effect in July 2016;[195] however, it was found to be partially unconstitutional by theConstitutional Court of Italy in January 2017,[196] and was then repealed and replaced by theItalian electoral law of 2017 (Rosatellum).[197]
In a September 2015 interview in New York,[198] Renzi said he did not need Berlusconi's votes for the reform, which he described as "a revolution", to pass.[199] Having passed the Chamber of Deputies on 11 March 2015, the reforms to the Senate that would see its power diminished and membership changed were passed by the Senate on 13 October.[200] The vote was won by 176 votes to 16, with a large number of senators abstaining from the vote in protest at having to vote on abolishing many of their own powers. The last vote was held on 12 April 2016, when the Chamber of Deputies approved the reform with 361 votes, while the opposition abandoned the house.[201] On 4 December, the reform was rejected in the2016 Italian constitutional referendum and Renzi resigned as a result.[202]
Number ofimmigrants arriving by boat in Italy from 1997 to 2016
As a result of theLibyan andSyrian Civil Wars, a major problem faced by Renzi upon becoming prime minister was the high levels ofillegal immigration to Italy. 2014 saw an increase in the number of migrants rescued at sea being brought to southern Italian ports, with the increase in the number of migrants prompting criticism of Renzi by the anti-immigrationLega Nord, theFive Star Movement, andSilvio Berlusconi'sForza Italia party.[203][204] On 8 August, the Renzi Cabinet approved a law-decree providing for the international protection of migrants. In November 2014, Renzi ordered the Italian-run rescue optionOperation Mare Nostrum to be replaced byFrontex'sOperation Triton due to the refusal of severalEU governments to fund it. In 2014, 170,100 migrants arrived in Italy by sea, a 296% increase compared to 2013. 141,484 of the travellers were ferried over from Libya. Most of the migrants had come fromSyria,Eritrea, and various countries inWest Africa.[205]
From January to April 2015, about 1,600 migrants died on the route from Libya toLampedusa, making it the deadliest migrant route in the world.[206] On 19 April 2015, amigrant shipwreck took place in theMediterranean Sea, causing the death of more than 700 migrants fromNorth Africa.[207] Renzi, returning toRome from a political event inMantua for the2015 Italian regional elections, held an emergency meeting with ministers and spoke by telephone to French presidentFrançois Hollande, Maltese prime ministerJoseph Muscat,[208] and Greek prime ministerAlexis Tsipras.[209] The call led to an emergency meeting of European interior ministers to address the problem of migrant deaths. In a speech addressing immigration, Renzi condemnedhuman trafficking as a "new slave trade".[210] About the crisis, Renzi said: "Europe is the greatest political victory of the twentieth century, but it is fuelled by ideals, not by the short-sightedness of those who would raise walls. Europe is in danger of collapsing when it becomes simply a set of self-interests." In January 2016, his Foreign MinisterPaolo Gentiloni said: "A choice must be made betweenDublin andSchengen. Both agreements cannot hold today."[211]
On 10 June 2015, theChamber of Deputies passed a motion obliging the government to approve a bill regarding civil unions between same-sex couples. Previously, all of themajor political parties in Italy had presented different motions oncivil unions, which were all rejected except for the PD's, which also called for civil unions to be approved. Shortly before becoming prime minister, Renzi stated that he favoured the introduction of civil unions for same-sex couples.[212] In July 2015, several days after theEuropean Parliament passed a motion calling on all members of theEuropean Union to recognise same-sex relationships, theEuropean Court of Human Rights ruled that Italy was violating theConvention on Human Rights by not recognisingsame-sex couples' "right to family life".[213][214]
On 7 October, Renzi introduced a bill to theItalian Parliament that would establish same-sex civil unions and gender-neutral cohabitation agreements. The bill passed its first reading in the Senate a week later.[215] Although Renzi secured the support of the PD and the main oppositionForza Italia party, manyconservative and Catholicmembers of parliament from both parties, including one of its coalition partners, theNew Centre-Right (NCD), criticised the bill.[216][217] Despite the bill being put forward on a free vote, Renzi made it clear that he would tie the civil unions bill to a vote of confidence in his government if it did not pass.[218][219]
Following months of public and parliamentary debate,[220][221] the Senate voted in favour of Renzi's proposals to legalise civil unions on 25 February 2016, with 173 votes in favour and 71 against.[222] An amendment known as the "stepchild adoption" provision that would have granted parental rights to a non-biological parent in a same-sex union was taken out of the bill at the last moment after it became clear a majority of senators did not support it.[223] Although Renzi had expressed support for the amendment, the decision came after theFive Star Movement backed out of an agreement to pass it; moreover, the amendment was opposed by the NCD.[224] Renzi stated that the bill's passage through the Senate was a "victory for love", although he expressed disappointment that the stepchild provision was not also adopted, and raised the possibility of introducing it in a separate bill at a later date.[225] On 11 May, the Chamber of Deputies approved the final proposals, with 369 votes in favour and 163 against.[226]
Renzi's so-called "schools package" was among its 1,000 days reforms to kickstart the Italian economy, and included hiring based on merit rather than seniority, favouring full-time hiring over substitutes, and increasing teachers for disabled children.[227] During a press conference on 3 September 2014, Renzi announced an online consultation with students, teachers, and citizens ahead of the major school reforms promoted by education ministerStefania Giannini.[228][229] On 9 July 2015, despite the opposition of an overwhelming majority of teachers and students alike to the design of the school reform, this was finally approved by the Chamber of Deputies, with 277 votes against 173.[230]
During a ceremony at theItalian National Olympic Committee on 1 December 2014, Renzi officially launched the candidacy ofRome for the2024 Summer Olympics.[231] Renzi stated: "Our country too often seems hesitant. It's unacceptable not to try or to renounce playing the game.Sport in Italy is a way of life and a way of looking at the future. I don't know if we’ll make it, but the Olympic candidacy is one of the most beautiful things we can do for our kids, for us, for Italy."[232] On 21 September 2016, the mayor of RomeVirginia Raggi, a member of theFive Star Movement, told reporters the bid for the games would go no further. Raggi, having long been opposed to Rome hosting the games, cited ongoing financial troubles in the country as the main reason for cancelling the bid. She said hosting the games would be "irresponsible" and would only cause the city to fall into further debt.[233]
"No-Expo" protests during the inauguration of Expo 2015 in Milan
During Renzi's premiership,Milan hosted theUniversal Exposition;[234][235] the themes were technology, innovation, culture, and traditions concerning food.[236] Participants to the Expo, hosted inside theExpo 2015 pavilions, included 145 countries, three international organisations, several civil society organisations, several corporations, and non-governmental organisations.[237]
The opening of the Expo on 1 May 2015 was met with protest from anti-austerity activists,black bloc, and anarchists caused criminal damage, resulting in the police usingtear gas. Expo also created some tensions with theHoly See and the Italian government;Pope Francis condemned the concept of Expo, saying that it "obeys the culture of waste and does not contribute to a model of equitable and sustainable development".[238] AsVatican City invested €3 million to obtain its own pavilion at the event before his appointment to the papacy, Pope Francis said that although it is a good thing that the Church is involved in causes that battle hunger and promote cleaner energy, too much money was wasted on the Expo itself by Vatican City.[239]
A magnitude 6.1 intraplateearthquake struck 3 km (2 mi) west ofVisso on 26 October at 21:18 local time (19:18 UTC). The earthquake, which occurred two months after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in August, struck about 30 km (20 mi) to the northwest of the August earthquake's epicentre.[242] The civil protection estimated the consequences less dramatically than feared. According to official data, a man died because he had suffered a heart attack as a result of the quake.[243]
A third large, shallow earthquake ofUSGS preliminary magnitude 6.6 struck 6 km (4 mi) north ofNorcia at 07:40 local time (06:40 UTC) on 30 October.[244] This quake was the largest in Italy in 36 years, since the1980 Irpinia earthquake.[245] The three earthquakes caused almost 100,000 homeless.[246]
Following the2014 European Parliament election in Italy, which saw the PD receive the highest number of votes of all the individual political parties contesting that election across the entireEuropean Union, Renzi subsequently emerged as the most prominent leader of the PES.[250] This was in opposition to German chancellorAngela Merkel, widely considered thede facto leader of theEuropean People's Party; the two leaders have been referred to asMerkenzi.[251] Renzi and Merkel had many bilateral meetings, the first on 17 March inBerlin, just a few weeks after Renzi's election as prime minister, where the two leaders discussed important reforms that the Italian government planned to make both in Italy and in the European Union.[252] On 22 January 2015, Merkel visited Renzi in his home city ofFlorence, where she publicly lauded the "impressive" reforms carried out by his government. On the following day, the two leaders held a joint press conference in front ofMichelangelo Buonarroti'sDavid.[253]
Renzi is seen as an ally of French presidentFrançois Hollande of theSocialist Party. On 15 March 2014, Renzi met Hollande inParis, agreeing with him a common economic policy focused not only on theausterity measures imposed by the so-calledEuropean troika of theEuropean Commission,European Central Bank, andInternational Monetary Fund but also on more flexible policies to promote economic growth in theEuropean Union.[254][255] Renzi is a close personal friend of French prime ministerManuel Valls, with the two leaders often regarded as being heirs of theThird Way politics espoused by the likes ofTony Blair.[256] On 7 January 2015, after theCharlie Hebdo shooting in Paris which caused the death of 17 people, Renzi expressed horror and dismay, offering his best wishes to the people of France, noting his close relationships with the French prime minister and Paris mayorAnne Hidalgo.[257] On 11 January, he joined more than forty world leaders and three million people in theRepublican marches organised by President Hollande.[258]
Renzi built a constructive relationship with the British prime ministerDavid Cameron of theConservative Party. During their first meeting on 1 April 2014, Cameron stated that the reforms planned by Renzi were "ambitious" and that together the two men would be able to change the European Union.[259][260] On the same day, Renzi also met Blair, the former British prime minister whom Renzi had previously called a political inspiration to him.[261] On 2 October, Renzi held a press conference with Cameron in10 Downing Street, with Cameron lauding their similar policies to reform the European Union and overcome the economic crisis.[262]
In September, Renzi participated in the2014 Wales summit. Before the official start of the summit, he had discussions with Ukrainian presidentPetro Poroshenko, US presidentBarack Obama, and the other three leaders of the EuropeanG4 to discuss the crisis withRussia.[265] This summit was the first held after the Russian military intervention inUkraine and the2014 Iraq conflict with the Islamic State of CaliphAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[266]
On 3 February 2015, Renzi received the newly elected Greek prime ministerAlexis Tsipras ofSYRIZA in Rome. The two leaders held a joint press conference expressing concerns aboutausterity measures imposed by the European Commission and stated thateconomic growth is the only way to solve the crisis. After the press conference, Renzi presented Tsipras with an Italian tie as a gift. Tsipras, who was notable for refusing to ever wear a tie, thanked Renzi and said he would wear the gift in celebration afterGreece had successfully renegotiated the austerity measures.[267]
Renzi met Obama for the first time on 24 March 2014 during the latter's trip to Rome. Renzi also held a joint meeting with Obama,Pope Francis, and Italian presidentGiorgio Napolitano.[269] Obama stated afterwards that he had been impressed by the reforms Renzi wanted to undertake.[270][271] Renzi himself said that he considered Obama an example of the policies he wanted to achieve.[272]
On 18 October 2016, President Obama invited Renzi and his wifeAgnese Landini to attend an officialstate dinner at the White House. The two men held a joint press conference during which Obama, the dinner being his final state visit as the United States president, commented that he had "saved the best for last", and the two reiterated their support for one another.[282]
Renzi built up a close relationship with Japanese prime ministerShinzō Abe; the two Prime Ministers were both againstausterity and seeking to reform the constitutions of their countries.[283] On 6 June 2014, Renzi received Prime Minister Abe in Rome. Abe publicly congratulated Renzi for the economic and constitutional reforms being delivered by Renzi's government. The two leaders also met inTokyo in August 2015 and discussed relations withChina and the stability ofEast Asia.[284]
Renzi during a press conference in March 2015
On 9 June, Renzi travelled toHanoi,Vietnam, to meet with PresidentTrương Tấn Sang, Prime MinisterNguyễn Tấn Dũng, and theCommunist Party of Vietnam's general secretaryNguyễn Phú Trọng to sign economic treaties worth aroundUS$5 billion to the Italian economy.[285][286] In doing so, Renzi became the first Italian prime minister to officially visit Vietnam since 1973, when diplomacy first began between Italy andNorth Vietnam.[287][288] During the visit, Renzi placed a wreath in the mausoleum of the former North Vietnamese presidentHo Chi Minh.[289]
On 11 June, Renzi met inBeijing with Chinese presidentXi Jinping, who congratulated him for the "important reforms" being undertaken by his government.[290] Xi also stated that China would continue co-operation with Italy ahead ofExpo 2015 inMilan.[291][292] Several months later in October, Renzi met with Chinese prime ministerLi Keqiang in Rome to sign twenty treaties worth a total of €8 billion.[293]
During his premiership, Renzi started a policy review which led to the creation of the Italy–Africa initiative, which includedrenewable energy cooperation and a new package of development aid in fields stretching from health care to culture;counterterrorism has been a key part of his agenda, but theEast Africa region is also important to stop the migration flows from there to Italy throughNorth Africa, especiallyLibya.[297]
On 4 March 2014, Renzi travelled toTunisia, where he had a meeting withMustapha Ben Jafar. With Jafar, Renzi discussed the problem ofillegal immigration to Italy from the coasts ofNorth Africa. The trip to Tunisia was the first official one made by Renzi as prime minister.[298] On 18 March 2015, after theBardo National Museum attack inTunis, in which 28 people died and four of whom were Italians, Renzi condemned theterrorist attack and said that Italy is close to the Tunisian government and people.[299]
On 19 July, Renzi started a major trip toAfrica, meeting the Mozambican presidentArmando Guebuza.[300] Renzi signed economic pacts to create investments by the Italian government-owned oil companyEni in the African country for US$50 billion.[301][302] The following day, he visited theRepublic of the Congo, where he met Congolese presidentDenis Sassou Nguesso, with whom he signed a co-operation for the extraction ofoil in the country.[303][304][305] Some journalists like Giuseppe Oddo criticised the meeting with Sassou Nguesso, who is considered one of the more corrupt dictators of Africa.[306] Renzi later met with Angolan presidentJosé Eduardo dos Santos inLuanda.[307][308] During the visit, Renzi placed a memorial wreath in the mausoleum ofAgostinho Neto, the first Angolan president.[309]
On 24 July, under the direction of Foreign MinisterFederica Mogherini, the government worked for the release ofMariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, a Sudanese woman had been who sentenced to death for being aChristian. Thanks largely to the good relations betweenSudan andItaly, Ibrahim was released and permitted to fly to Italy on a government plane.[310][311]
On 2 December, Renzi went toAlgiers, where he met Algerian presidentAbdelaziz Bouteflika and Prime MinisterAbdelmalek Sellal. With the two leaders of the country, Renzi discussed the2014 Libyan crisis, immigration fromNorth Africa, and also about gas imports fromAlgeria as an alternative to Russian imports, following the tensions between the European Union and Russia.[312][313]
Renzi has been one of the strongest supporters of Libyan prime ministerFayez al-Sarraj and of his government of national union. In August 2016,la Repubblica reported that dozens ofItalian special forces were operating in Libya for training and intelligence activities. These special forces were operating under the direct command of the Prime Minister's office.[316]
On 5 March 2015, Renzi met President Putin and Prime MinisterDmitry Medvedev inMoscow. The talks between the leaders were focused on international issues, such as the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, the situations in theMiddle East and inLibya, as well as fightingterrorism.[326][327] Putin guaranteed Russian support in case of aUnited Nations intervention in Libya against theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[328] Ahead of the bilateral meeting, Prime Minister Renzi visited and laid flowers at the Moscow bridge, near theKremlin, on which the Russian opposition leaderBoris Nemtsov was murdered a few days before.[329]
Through 2015, Renzi became one of the main supporters of a reduction ofinternational sanctions against Russia and the establishment of a political and military alliance between theWestern countries and Russia againstIslamic terrorism.[330][331][332] Renzi questionedNord Stream 2, a new Russia–Germany natural gas pipeline, saying: "I found it surprising that the South Stream project was blocked [the Balkan pipelineSouth Stream was cancelled by Russia in December 2014 following obstacles from the EU], while now we are discussing a doubling up of Nord Stream."[333]
On 2 August 2014, Renzi met with Egyptian presidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisi inCairo, holding talks about a variety of issues, including the2014 Israel–Gaza conflict. Renzi stated that Italy would support the Egyptian truce proposal, with the two leaders calling for an immediate cease-fire and the beginning of peace negotiations.[334][335][336] In making the visit, Renzi became the firstWestern world leader to visit President el-Sisi since2014 Egyptian presidential election. On 15 January 2015, after the Islamic State's conquests inLibya, Renzi conducted a long phone call with Sisi, to discuss the terrorist threat in the Mediterranean. The two leaders agreed that the next steps should be political and diplomatic efforts through the United Nations.[337] On 11 July, acar bomb exploded outside the Italian consulate in Cairo, resulting in at least one death and four injured. The Islamic State claimed responsibility.[338][339][340]
The relations between Italy and Egypt dramatically worsened after themurder of Giulio Regeni, an ItalianCambridge University graduate student killed in Cairo following his abduction on 25 January 2016.[341] Regeni was a PhD student atGirton College, Cambridge,[342] researching independenttrade unions in Egypt.[343] Due to Regeni's research activities andleft-wing political leanings, the security services of el-Sisi's government are strongly suspected of involvement in his murder,[344] although Egypt's media and government deny this and say secret undercover agents belonging to theMuslim Brotherhood carried out the crime in order to embarrass the Egyptian government and destabilise relations between Italy and Egypt.[345][346]
On 8 January 2015, Renzi made his first official trip of the year, meeting with Crown PrinceMohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan inAbu Dhabi to address issues of foreign and economic policy, including theAlitalia-Etihad Airways deal.[354] The two leaders discussed joint co-operation domains and enhancing trade exchange and co-operation in energy and aerospace.[355]
As Prime Minister, Renzi had good relations with both Israeli prime ministerBenjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian presidentMahmoud Abbas.[356] On 21 and 22 July 2015, he visited firstJerusalem, where he met with Netanyahu and addressed theKnesset, and thenRamallah, where he met with Abbas.[357] Renzi was the first leader to visitIsrael after theJoint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the deal reached betweenP5+1 andIran. Whereas Netanyahu criticised the deal, Renzi supported it, saying that "Israel's security is the security of Europe and mine as well."[358]
In January 2016, Renzi met with Iranian presidentHassan Rouhani in Rome, the first visit to Italy by aPresident of Iran since 1999. The two leaders signed business deals worth up to €17 billion.[359] They also discussed the war against the Islamic State in theMiddle East andLibya.[360] On 13 and 14 April, he became the first Western leader to visit Iran after the international agreement on thenuclear program of Iran.[361] In Iran, Renzi met both President Rouhani and Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei.[362]
In a surprise visit on 28 October, Renzi became the first Italian prime minister in history to make a state visit toCuba. In doing so, he also became the firstG7 leader to meet Cuban presidentRaúl Castro following theUnited States–Cuban Thaw of relations between the United States and Cuba.[369][370][371]
Following the defeat in the constitutional referendum and the subsequent resignation as prime minister in December 2016, Renzi remained secretary of theDemocratic Party (PD).[375] As leader of the main party in both theChamber of Deputies and theSenate of the Republic, he supported the new government led by his former Minister of Foreign AffairsPaolo Gentiloni, also a PD deputy.[376] In February 2017, Renzi resigned as secretary, only to be re-elected in the2017 PD leadership election in April.[377] Following poor results in the2018 Italian general election, Renzi resigned as secretary for good in March.[378]
In September 2019, Renzi left the PD to found the liberal partyItalia Viva (IV). As a member of the PD, the party moved at the opposition in June 2018 against the populistConte I Cabinet ofLega–Five Star Movement (M5S). In August 2019, Renzi played a key role in returning the PD to government with the M5S and the left-wingFree and Equal; he then joined the government with IV to keep Lega andMatteo Salvini out of power,[379] leading to both the rise and fall of theConte II Cabinet through the2021 Italian government crisis in January, and then supporting the national-unity government of theDraghi Cabinet in February 2021.[380]
The other two candidates for the leadership election were the president of ApuliaMichele Emiliano and the Minister of JusticeAndrea Orlando. Emiliano was an outspoken formermagistrate with strong support in the poor South expected to join the dissidents in MDP but decided instead to challenge Renzi from within the mainstream party;[394] he is often described as ademocratic socialist and populist politician.[395] Orlando is asocial-democratic politician and a leading member of the party since the foundation,[396] often described as the candidate of the social-democratic establishment of the party.[397] After having won the March vote by party members with almost 67% of votes,[398] Renzi won the PD's April primary by a landslide with 69.2% of votes,[399] while Orlando received 19.9% and Emiliano 10.9% of votes.[400] On 1 May,[401] Renzi was certified to have been re-elected as the party secretary.[402]
After the rejection of the constitutional reform, theparliament had to change theItalian electoral law of 2015 proposed by Renzi's government; the so-calledItalicum regulated only the election of the Chamber of Deputies, and not the one of the Senate, which, had the reform passed, would beindirectly elected by citizens. After the re-election as secretary, Renzi proposed a new electoral law calledMattarellum bis, better known asRosatellum,[403] from the name of his main proponentEttore Rosato, PD leader in the Chamber of Deputies.[404] This electoral law was similar to the one which was applied in Italy from 1993 to 2004.[405]
Despite many protests from theFive Star Movement and the MDP, the electoral law was approved on 12 October by the Chamber of Deputies with 375 votes in favour and 215 against,[409] and by the Senate with 214 votes against 61 on 26 October.[410]
The PD's electoral programme for the2018 Italian general election included,[411][412][413] among the main points, the introduction of a minimum hourly wage of €10, a measure that would affect 15% of workers, that is those workers who do not adhere to the national collective agreements; a cut of the contributory wedge for permanent contracts; a relocation allowance and an increase in subsidies for theunemployed; a monthly allowance of €80 for parents for each minor child; fiscal detraction of €240 for parents with children; and the progressive reduction of IRPEF and IRES rates, respectively the Italianincome tax and thecorporate tax.[414][415] Moreover, the PD advocated the re-launch of the process ofEuropean integration and federation towards the formation of theUnited States of Europe.[416]
In the election, Renzi'scentre-left coalition arrived third behind thecentre-right coalition, in whichMatteo Salvini'sLeague was the main political force, and theFive Star Movement ofLuigi Di Maio that came first as a party.[417][418] On 5 March, Renzi announced that the PD would be in opposition during this legislature and resign as secretary when a new cabinet is formed.[419] Renzi officially resigned on 12 March during the PD's national directorate, and his deputy secretary Martina was appointed acting leader.[420]
In August 2019, Deputy Prime Minister and Lega's leaderMatteo Salvini announced a motion of no confidence against Prime MinisterGiuseppe Conte after growing tensions within the majority.[421] Many political analysts believed the no confidence motion was an attempt to force early elections to improve Lega's standing in Parliament, ensuring Salvini could become the next prime minister.[422] On 20 August, following the parliamentary debate at the Senate, in which Conte accused Salvini of being a political opportunist who "had triggered the political crisis only to serve his personal interest" and stated "this government ends here",[423][424] the Prime Minister resigned his post to PresidentSergio Mattarella.[425] Despite having always opposed it in the past, Renzi strongly advocated the formation of a new government between the PD and the populistFive Star Movement in August 2019.[426] After days of tensions within the PD,Nicola Zingaretti, the new PD's leader, announced his favorable position regarding a new government with the M5S on 28 August, with Conte at its head.[427][428] On the same day, President Mattarella summoned Conte to theQuirinal Palace for the 29 August to give him the task of forming a new cabinet.[429] Renzi was seen by many political analysts and journalists as the real kingmaker of the new parliamentary majority.[430]
Renzi at the Quirinal Palace during the consultations for the formation of a new government in 2021
In an interview withla Repubblica on 17 September, Renzi announced his intention to leave the PD, creating new parliamentary groups led by him.[431] On the same day, interviewed byBruno Vespa in his TV showPorta a Porta, he officially launched the political movementItalia Viva (IV).[432] Between December 2020 and January 2021, discussions arose within the government coalition between Renzi and Prime Minister Conte.[433] Renzi called for radical changes to the government's economic recovery plans after theCOVID-19 pandemic in Italy and also demanded that Conte cede his mandate over the secret services coordination task.[434] During his end-of-year press conference, Conte declined Renzi's requests, saying that he still had a parliamentary majority.[435] After a few days, Renzi threatened to pull back IV's two ministers,Teresa Bellanova andElena Bonetti, from the upcomingCouncil of Ministers, summoned to approve theNext Generation EU.[436]
During a press conference on 13 January,[437] Renzi announced the resignation of IV's ministers Bellanova and Bonetti, officially opening the2021 Italian government crisis.[438] Renzi was instrumental in gettingMario Draghi as prime minister,[439] with IV supporting Draghi's vote of confidence for anational unity government.[440][441][442] In the2022 Italian presidential election, Renzi supported candidatePier Ferdinando Casini,[443][444] a centrist close to the centre-right, having qualms about the precedent of re-electing the incumbent president Mattarella; after Casini failed to gain support and rejecting the candidature ofElisabetta Belloni, the head of secret services, which he criticized as "only [happening] in an anti-democratic country",[445] Renzi joined the governing parties in asking Mattarella to accept a second term.[446]
In 2020, the Florence public prosecutor's office opened an investigation after the agreement withSoka Gakkai Italian Buddhist Institute (SGI-Italy) received the on suspicion of corruption in which SGI-Italy recognizes as a "Concordat" in June 2015: Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was said to have received a reward from theSoka Gakkai in the form of a package of Mitsui shares, a Japanese group in which the Soka Gakkai is a shareholder.[447]
Giorgio Napolitano announced his immediate retirement asPresident of Italy on 14 January 2015. Napolitano had been convinced to stand again as president following the political uncertainty generated by the2013 Italian general election but had made it clear he would retire at some point before June 2015. During the National Assembly of the PD on 29 January, Renzi officially announced that he would endorseSergio Mattarella, a judge on theConstitutional Court of Italy and a former Minister of Defence, as his candidate for the Italian presidential election to replace Napolitano.[455]
It had been thought, due to the high threshold a candidate requires in the first three rounds of balloting in a presidential election, that Renzi would be forced to seek a compromise candidate withSilvio Berlusconi; however, despite Berlusconi's stringent opposition to Mattarella, Renzi instructed the PD to abstain from the first three rounds of balloting in an attempt to force a fourth ballot which required a far lower threshold for victory. Despite the risk this strategy involved, centrist parties announced at the last moment that they would support Mattarella on the fourth ballot, and he subsequently won the presidential election with 665 votes out of 1,009 from senators and deputies. Renzi was able to secure his chosen candidate's election by also unexpectedly securing last-minute support from the conservativeNew Centre-Right, the socialistLeft Ecology Freedom, and the liberalCivic Choice.[456]
Basta un Sì ("Just a Yes") logo chosen to support the reform
After constitutional reforms had passed both theChamber of Deputies and theSenate of the Republic multiple times, Renzi announced that he would hold aconstitutional referendum on 4 December 2016 to seek approval for the changes; whilst the reform was approved by a simple parliamentary majority, it did not achieve the two-thirds necessary to avoid a referendum, as per Article 138 of theConstitution of Italy.[457]
Voters were asked whether they approved of amending the constitution to transform the Senate into a "Senate ofRegions", with 100 members made up of regional councillors and mayors of large cities, akin to theBundesrat of Germany.[458] The reform would have reduced the size of the Senate from 315 to 100, making all senators indirectly elected by regional councils and mayors. The reform would have made it harder for the Senate to veto legislation.[459] Following early results which indicated that the "No" side was clearly ahead, Renzi conceded defeat and resigned.[460]
In the election, thecentre-right coalition, in whichMatteo Salvini'sLeague emerged as the main political, won aplurality of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate with 37.0% of votes, while the anti-establishmentFive Star Movement led byLuigi Di Maio became the party with the largest number of votes (32.7%). Renzi's centre-left coalition came only third with 22.9% of votes;[464] however, no political group or party won an outright majority, resulting in ahung parliament.[465]
The nature of Renzi'sprogressivism is a matter of debate and has been linked both toliberalism andpopulism.[466][467] According to Maria Teresa Meli of theCorriere della Sera, Renzi "pursues a precise model, borrowed from the BritishLabour Party andBill Clinton'sDemocratic Party", comprising "a strange mix (for Italy) of liberal policy in the economic sphere and populism. This means that, on one side, he will attack the privileges of trade unions, especially of theCGIL, which defends only the already protected, while, on the other, he will sharply attack the vested powers, bankers,Confindustria and a certain type of capitalism."[468]
The Daily Telegraph referred to Renzi as "a prominent centrist voice in Europe".[469] Renzi has occasionally been compared to former British prime ministerTony Blair for his political views.[470] Renzi himself has previously cited Blair as an inspiration for him, and said to be a supporter of Blair's ideology of theThird Way, which attempts to synthesiseliberal economics andleft-wing social policies.[471][472] In an interview with the Italian talk showChe tempo che fa, Renzi stated that his meeting withBill Clinton andHillary Clinton was the most interesting part of his trip to the United States because he considered them as models of thereformist left.[473] Renzi endorsed theHillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign in an interview where he also expressed admiration for the policies of Bill Clinton andBarack Obama.[474]
Renzi is in favour of the recognition ofcivil unions forsame-sex couples andstepchild adoptions, a situation which occurs when at least one parent has children from a previous relationship that are not genetically related to the other parent.[475] For this, Renzi was criticised by the participants of the Family Day, ananti-LGBT demonstration which took place three times in Italy; the Prime Minister was accused of having changed his opinion about the recognition of same-sex couples. Renzi participated in the first Family Day in 2007, while he was president of Florence province and a member of the centristThe Daisy party.[476]
Renzi taking aselfie with some supporters inVenice
According to public opinion surveys in May 2014, just after the European Parliament elections, Renzi's approval rating was 74%, the highest ever rating for an Italian politician serving as Prime Minister; the highest absolute consensus at 84% was recorded in November 2011 byMario Monti, who presided over a technical, bipartisan government.[480] His lowest approval in office was in June 2015, with just over 35%;[481] upon leaving the office of Prime Minister, his approval rating further shrank to 15% by April 2020.[482]
In the 2010s, Italy underwent a wave ofpopulism andpost-modern leadership likened to Renzi's style. As a "master of telepolitics", Renzi used his own skills and accomplishments as evidence of his ability to lead, promoted the Internet as a platform for democracy, and used heavy emotional appeals along with relatable, persuasive language to advocate for his positions.[483] In 2014, Renzi was ranked as the third most influential person in the world under 40 in the40 Under 40 list byFortune,[484][485] and in the FP Top 100 Global Thinkers byForeign Policy.[486][487] Both as prime minister and mayor of Florence, Renzi has been renowned as an assiduous user ofsocial networks, especiallyTwitter, where he is followed by more than two million people.[488] Renzi's use of social networks was a contributing factor to his victory in the2013 PD leadership election.[489][490]
Renzi has stated that he is a fan of the American TV seriesHouse of Cards; some journalists, including the book's authorMichael Dobbs andEnrico Letta, noted similarities between the rise to power of the characterFrancis Underwood, played byKevin Spacey, and the manner in which Renzi replaced Letta as prime minister in 2014.[491][492][493] This comparison surfaced in the media again in June 2015, when a phone conversation from January 2014 between Renzi and a general of theGuardia di Finanza, Michele Adinolfi, was leaked toIl Fatto Quotidiano.[494] During the conversation, Renzi described Letta as "incapable" and told Adinolfi that he would replace him as prime minister, which would happen less than a month later.[495] In October 2016, Renzi stated to have stopped watching the TV series after its second season.[496] After Letta retired from politics in 2015, he came back to accept the PD leadership in March 2021,[497][498] about one year and a half after Renzi left the PD and his new party was struggling at the polls.[499]
In February 2022, the Florence Prosecutors' office requested a trial of eleven suspects, among them Renzi, for alleged funding irregularities related to Renzi's Open Foundation.[502] Alongside his consultations inSaudi Arabia, for which he received €1.1 million and was criticized due to praising Saudi Arabia's cheap labour costs and referring to it as a "New Renaissance", Renzi's public image suffered and he received criticism from Saudi dissidentSa'ad Al-Faqih.[503][504]
Since 2018, Matteo Renzi's speaking engagements, particularly in the Gulf monarchies, have been a major part of his schedule. He declared income from this activity of over 800,000 euros in 2018 and over a million in 2019. In 2020, he joins the board of directors of the Future Investment Initiative Institute, a think tank financed by Saudi Arabia, with an annual remuneration of 80,000 euros.[516]
^Negri, Fedra; Rebessi, Elisa (January 2018). "Was Mattarella Worth the Trouble? Explaining the Failure of the 2016 Italian Constitutional Referendum".Italian Political Science Review.48 (2). Cambridge University Press:177–196.doi:10.1017/ipo.2017.29.hdl:2434/562060.S2CID158906172.
^Di Mauro, Danilo; Memoli, Vincenzo (February 2018). "Targeting the Government in the Referendum: The Aborted 2016 Italian Constitutional Reform".Italian Political Science Review.48 (2). Cambridge University Press:133–157.doi:10.1017/ipo.2017.31.S2CID158555880.
^Aresu, Alessandro; Bonzanni, Andrea; Garnero, Andrea; Gatto, Stefano; Montalto, Valentina; Mosca, Alessia (December 2012)."Italy After B."(PDF). Lo Spazio della Politica. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 29 October 2014. Retrieved8 February 2022.
^Pasquino, Gianfranco (June 2016). "Renzi: The Government, the Party, the Future of Italian Politics".Journal of Modern Italian Studies.21 (3):389–398.doi:10.1080/1354571X.2016.1169883.S2CID148425535.
^"Matteo Renzi annuncia dimissioni ministre IV e attacca il governo" (in Italian). ANSA. 13 January 2021. Retrieved11 February 2022.'We asked the Prime Minister three questions. The first is methodical: we will not allow anyone to have full powers, we have started this government not to give them to Salvini'. ... 'There is a dramatic emergency to face but it cannot be the only element that keeps the government alive. Responding to the pandemic means having the desire and need to unblock construction sites and act on industrial policies' ... . 'There is a reason if Italy is the country with the highest number of deaths and GDP that collapses'.
^Bordignon, Fabio (January 2014). "Matteo Renzi: A 'Leftist Berlusconi' for the Italian Democratic Party?".South European Society and Politics.19:1–23.doi:10.1080/13608746.2014.887240.S2CID154739617.
^Thubron, Dario (21 February 2014). "Matteo Renzi: from Florence mayor to Italy PM". Agence France-Presse.Aged just 39, Italy's new prime minister Matteo Renzi has been catapulted from local government in Florence to national prominence in the space of just a few months. ... Renzi is married to a former fellow Scout, Agnese, a schoolteacher, and the couple have three children.
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